Quick answer: A compliant video surveillance sign tells people, before they enter the monitored area, that cameras are in use, who operates them, why, and whom to contact. In Canada that notice is how an organization meets the knowledge-and-consent and openness principles of PIPEDA and the provincial privacy acts; in Quebec the sign must be in French; and wherever a microphone is live, the sign should say that audio is recorded. In the US there is no single federal signage statute, but state recording laws and premises-liability practice make the same sign the safe default. Post it at every entrance at eye level, photograph it, and record it in the commissioning report. Practical guidance, not legal advice; verify with counsel.
What must a video surveillance sign say?
Build every sign from the same element list.
| Element | US | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Statement that video surveillance is in operation, with a camera pictogram | Recommended everywhere; required by some states and cities in specific settings | Expected under PIPEDA openness and the provincial acts |
| Operator (legal name of the organization) | Recommended | Expected: PIPEDA Principle 1, Accountability |
| Purpose (for example “safety and security of persons and property”) | Recommended | Expected: PIPEDA Principle 2, Identifying Purposes; Quebec requires stated purposes |
| Contact for questions and access requests | Recommended | Expected: individual access and openness |
| Audio statement (“audio is not recorded” or “audio is recorded”) | Essential where a microphone is live, above all in all-party-consent states | Essential where a microphone is live |
| Retention period | Optional | Optional; if stated it must match the NVR’s real overwrite |
| Language | English, plus the local majority language where helpful | English or French by province; French markedly predominant in Quebec; both official languages at federal institutions |
Leave out anything you cannot keep true. “24-hour monitoring” on a site with no guard is a liability, and “30 days” on an NVR that overwrites in 11 is a false statement to a regulator. Size storage to the promise or do not make it: see Video retention policy by industry.
Where do the signs go?
In both countries the notice must be visible before the person enters the recorded area. Work the site plan entrance by entrance.
- Every public pedestrian entrance, sign center about 5 ft (1.5 m) above the finished floor, beside the door, lit or reflective so it reads at night.
- Every vehicle entrance, at driver eye height of about 4 ft (1.2 m) above grade, readable from the stop line; a common rule of thumb is 1 in (25 mm) of letter height per 10 ft (3 m) of reading distance.
- Interior re-entry points: elevator lobbies, parking-level stair doors, loading docks, the staff entrance and the mailroom, because people entering there never passed the front door.
- Beside any camera that plays an audio warning. The spoken message of an EW or AEW camera is a deterrence feature confirmed per SKU; it does not replace the posted notice.
- Wherever audio is enabled on a channel, the sign in that zone carries the audio line; see Audio recording laws checklist for cameras with microphones.
- Minimum sizes that have worked on commercial jobs: 8 in × 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm) at pedestrian doors and 12 in × 18 in (30 cm × 46 cm) at vehicle gates; a sign code or landlord standard may require more.
What do US rules expect?
No federal statute requires a sign for video-only surveillance of a commercial premises. The governing idea is the reasonable expectation of privacy: cameras in lobbies, sales floors, parking lots and corridors are generally lawful without notice, while restrooms, changing rooms and similar spaces are off limits regardless of signage. Some states and cities add notice duties in specific settings, and the list changes; Security camera laws by state gives a checklist approach. Audio is the exception that bites: federal law accepts one party’s consent, but a group of states requires the consent of everyone recorded, and a posted sign is how an operator shows that people who stayed and spoke were informed. Post the sign even where no statute requires it: it can support premises-liability and employment defenses, and insurers often ask for it. Verify the current state law with counsel before printing.
What do Canadian rules expect?
In Canada notice is a privacy-law expectation. PIPEDA governs commercial organizations federally and in provinces without a substantially similar law; Quebec (the private-sector act as amended by Law 25), Alberta (PIPA) and British Columbia (PIPA) apply their own statutes, and public bodies fall under the provincial freedom-of-information and privacy acts. All rest on the same principles: identify the purpose, collect only what it needs, and inform the individual so that consent is meaningful. Privacy commissioners’ video surveillance guidance expects clear signs at the perimeter of the monitored area naming the organization and a contact, and discourages audio recording unless demonstrably necessary.
Quebec
Two layers apply. Under Law 25, an organization must inform people of the purposes of collection and of their rights, and must designate a person in charge of personal information whose title and contact details are published; verify the notice content with counsel. Under the Charter of the French Language, public signs must be in French; another language may appear if French is markedly predominant, and the rules were tightened in 2025, so verify the current requirement with counsel before printing a bilingual sign. The practical answer is French with English in smaller type, or French only.
Federal institutions and employers
Airports, federal office buildings, ports and Crown facilities fall under the Official Languages Act and sign in both official languages. Where a provincially regulated employer records staff areas, Ontario also requires employers with 25 or more employees to have a written electronic monitoring policy (verify the current threshold with counsel); a sign does not replace it.
Sign examples: US, Canada and Quebec
Working examples of wording, not legal templates. Replace the bracketed fields and strike any line that is not true for the site.
| Line | US commercial site | Canada (English) | Quebec (French) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header | NOTICE: VIDEO SURVEILLANCE IN USE | NOTICE: THIS AREA IS UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE | AVIS : CES LIEUX SONT SOUS VIDÉOSURVEILLANCE |
| Purpose | For the safety and security of persons and property | Images are collected for the safety and security of persons and property and to investigate incidents | Les images sont recueillies pour assurer la sécurité des personnes et des biens et pour enquêter sur les incidents |
| Operator | Operated by [Company legal name] | Operated by [Company legal name] | Exploité par [Nom légal de l’entreprise] |
| Audio | Audio is not recorded | Audio is not recorded | Aucun enregistrement audio |
| Retention (optional) | Recordings are kept for approximately [30] days unless required for an investigation | Recordings are kept for approximately [30] days unless required for an investigation | Les enregistrements sont conservés environ [30] jours, sauf s’ils sont requis pour une enquête |
| Contact | Questions: [phone] / [email] | Questions or access requests: [Privacy contact], [phone], [email] | Pour toute question ou demande d’accès : [Responsable de la protection des renseignements personnels], [téléphone], [courriel] |
Where audio is enabled on a channel, swap the audio line for “Audio is recorded in this area” / “L’audio est enregistré dans cette zone” and confirm the consent position for that jurisdiction first.
Template to copy into your job folder
Copy this table into your proposal spreadsheet or the sign vendor’s order form, one row per sign, so the schedule doubles as the as-built record.
| Field | Entry | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sign ID | SGN-01, SGN-02 … | Matches the camera schedule’s zone naming |
| Location | Main entrance, latch side; Gate 2, driver side … | Reference the floor plan grid or the camera ID it covers |
| Height to center | 5 ft (1.5 m) pedestrian; 4 ft (1.2 m) vehicle | Adjust to the sign code and viewing distance |
| Size | 8 in × 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm) or 12 in × 18 in (30 cm × 46 cm) | 1 in (25 mm) letter height per 10 ft (3 m) |
| Purpose line | Safety and security of persons and property | Add loss prevention or incident investigation only if declared |
| Audio line | Not recorded / Recorded | Must match the channel’s audio setting on the NVR |
| Retention line | Approximately [n] days, or omit | Must match measured overwrite at full load |
| Contact | Privacy contact, phone, email | The customer’s privacy officer, not the installer |
How do you document signage at handover?
- Photograph every sign from the approach direction with the door or gate it serves in frame, and file the photos under the sign IDs.
- Attach the completed sign schedule to the commissioning report and the as-built package, using the camera schedule’s zone names; see Labeling and documentation standard for camera installs.
- Record which channels have audio enabled and that every sign in those zones carries the audio line; record the measured overwrite period at full load and that any retention line matches it.
- Hand the customer a one-page note stating that the signage is their privacy notice and that any change in purpose, retention or audio requires a sign update; re-check signs at every service visit, because faded or removed signs are an easy finding on a privacy inspection.
What to tell your customer
“The signs are your privacy notice to the public, so they carry your company name and your contact, not ours. We post them at every entrance before the camera zone, and the wording matches what the system actually does: no audio unless we enable it and say so, and a retention period only if we have measured it. If you change what the cameras are for, the signs change with it.”
FAQ
Is a video surveillance sign legally required in the United States?
Not by any single federal statute for video-only recording of a commercial premises. Some states and cities require notice in specific settings, and the audio recording laws of all-party-consent states make a posted notice the practical way to show that people were informed. Post the sign regardless; it can support premises-liability and employment defenses and insurers often ask for it. Verify the current state law with counsel.
Does Canada require a video surveillance sign?
Canadian privacy law requires organizations to identify their purposes and to inform individuals so that consent is meaningful, and the federal and provincial privacy commissioners’ video surveillance guidance expects clear signage at the perimeter of the monitored area, naming the organization and a contact. In practice a missing sign is likely to be read as a failure of the knowledge-and-consent and openness principles under PIPEDA or the provincial acts; verify with counsel.
What does a Quebec sign need that other provinces do not?
French. Under the Charter of the French Language, public signs must be in French, and another language may appear only if French is markedly predominant; the rules were tightened in 2025, so confirm the current ratio with counsel before printing. Law 25 also expects the notice to state purposes and to point to the organization’s person in charge of personal information as the contact.
Should the sign state the retention period?
Only if it is true at full load. Measure the actual overwrite period on the commissioned NVR with every channel recording at its final bitrate, round down, and write “approximately”. A retention figure the system cannot meet is a false statement to the public and to a regulator, and it is the first thing an investigator checks against the recorder. If the customer may change settings, omit the line.
